BANKRUPTCY (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

11.20 am

The Second Minister for Law (Prof. Jayakumar): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, this Bill is being introduced at the request of the Judiciary. It seeks to amend the Bankruptcy Act to enlarge the jurisdiction of the Registrar of the Supreme Court in bankruptcy to enable him to hear bankruptcy proceedings in Chambers, subject to any rules made under the Act which reserves certain categories of matters for open court hearing before Judges.

Currently, under the Bankruptcy Act, the jurisdiction of the Registrar is limited to the hearing and determination of unopposed or ex parte applications which are not required to be made in open court. Since the bulk of bankruptcy proceedings are required under the Bankruptcy Rules to be in open court, they fall to be heard and determined by Judges. The amendment in this Bill is necessary to alleviate the present workload of the Judges.

The main amendment in the Bill is the amendment to section 90 of the Act (clause 8). It provides that, subject to any rules made under the Act, the Registrar shall have the powers and jurisdiction of the court under the Act.

The amendments in clauses 3, 5 and 9 are consequential upon the amendment to section 90 of the Act. Clauses 4 and 6 amend sections 18(7) and 33(1) of the Act, respectively, so that applications referred to in those sections need not be made and heard in open court.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Prof. Jayakumar.]

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.